In the mid-1980s, the hottest ticket in London to get Was 'Phantom of the Opera', playing at Her Majesty's Theatre (of The Few theaters in the West End That Regularly icts name exchange, DEPENDING upon the gender of the reigning monarch) , opposite the Haymarket Theatre. One Could See long lines around the block before Each performance, scalpers outside looking to cash in on Their Earlier luck of getting tickets, and disappointed tourists Who About did not realized That They Had to book months in advance to get a seat. My secretary in the House of Commons got tickets in the tail for four months hence, and worried That Was That Time by Michael Crawford might-have Decided to move on, and get stuck She Would seeing a second-cast Phantom. In the end, She Was Fortunate. Was it still Crawford When she got there. Goal I will never forget the evil in her eye the morning about two weeks later When She Abebooks web sites what I'd done the night before, and I Replied Innocently (no, really, Innocently!) 'I went to see Phantom of the Opera last night. ' If looks could kill, I would not be writing this now. I actually got to see Phantom twice on the London course, with Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman and Steve Barton, and Were Both times we fluke. The first time I Was walking past the theater about 10 minutes partner after the start, and a scalping Who HAD-been unsuccessful at selling tickets Was His giving it out at cost. This is the time my secretary Nearly killed me. The Second Time Was 'inherited' from a friend Who Was Unexpectedly called Expired out of the country on Foreign Office business. I got the tape of the cast recording as soon as I Could After seeing it the first time, and it brought` back all of the wonderful scenes. The music of Andrew Lloyd Webber Seems To captivate Either irritate gold, but not a lot in between. And, in fact, I find Reviews some of his music falls into qui Each camp for me. Phantom is One of Those for me in qui there are no weak songs. Perhaps the best song of all is 'Music of the Night', a haunting minor key pieces with superb lyrics qui weave hopefulness and darkness together skillfully. The chord changes at the end of the song, from minor to major and back to minor, is one of the Most Memorable exchange in modern musicals. Crawford's strong expressive purpose and quivering voice exudes emotion as the lyrics work to expand perceptions: 'Night time sharpens, heightens Each sensation; Darkness stirs and wakes imagination .. Silently the senses abandon Their defenses ... ' Strong songs Such As le titre room, 'Phantom of the Opera', qui mix traditional pipe organ with modern electronic beats sccm to work well in getting the mood Established for the power over the Phantom HAS Christine, played beautifully by Sarah Brightman. Brightman Became an international star in this role; she planned it That Way - some cynics might say she used to get Webber stardom dumped _him_ And Then (of course, I would never say Such a thing!). Brightman's voice Was not The Strongest, Either on the recording or on the stage; She has matured much since then; HOWEVER, as the hand of Christine Was to be a young-discovery, maturity and might-have-been misplaced strength in this role. Raoul, Christine's true love interest, is played by Steve Barton, Who does a very good job, with a vocal Good interplay with Brightman on songs Such As Think of Me and All I Ask of You, in addition to the interplay with Crawford on various songs, PARTICULARLY nearing the finding of the story. HOWEVER, my favorite chorus room HAS to be 'Notes' in the qui proprietors of the opera, as well as the singers and bosses begin recevoir ratings from unknown sources, and suspect everyone save the real source, the Phantom, Who in the end comes into the scene - this song is humourous, choral, and dramatic with simultaneous and dissonant Elements in wonderful exchange. Then it spins down to a wonderful violin strain That shows the delicate state of Christine in a beautiful musical way, hard to express in words. This is a fun musical, with tunes and a story qui stay with one Long After hearing, and One That entices repeating over and over. Even though the 'craze' for Phantom HAS icts died down from height more than a decade ago, the strength of the musical shows in the strong and dirty Widespread recognition que la songs from this musical generate.
